Of Course
by Natalia Vronsky
Summary: People assumed they were married already. He figured making it official was only the next natural step. Written for the TheCarylDaily "Marry Me?" contest on Tumblr.


Summary: People assumed they were married already. He figured making it official was only the next natural step. Written for the TheCarylDaily "Marry Me?" contest on Tumblr.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Walking Dead and all characters belong to a whole bunch of people who aren't me, mainly Robert Kirkman.

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There was something that brought Daryl peace in watching Carol watch the sunrise. She was curled up in the window seat that overlooked the forest just beyond the walls of Sanctuary. She was a picture; hair tousled from sleep, wearing his shirt from the day before, only enough buttons done up in case someone walking by happened to look into the window or one of the girls decided to barrel through their bedroom door.

Her forehead was pressed against the glass, lips quirked upwards as the darkness melted into light. He slid out of bed, grabbing his boxers from off the floor and slipping them on before sitting at the other end of the seat.

"Morning," her eyes flicked over to him for a moment before resuming her watch.

He made a noise in the back of his throat in response to her. He reached over, tilting her chin with two fingers, quickly leaning over the space between them and pressing his mouth to hers. He jerked backwards when he felt her try to deepen the kiss.

"Always such a tease," she chided with an exaggerated pout on her lips.

He bit his lip, debating bringing it up or not, but it wasn't just something that could be left unsaid between them. Heaving a sigh, he angled his body towards hers, curling one leg underneath him. "Not always, no."

She looked into the room, eyes darting around for a moment before meeting his steady gaze. "No," she lifted her left hand, fingers uncurling around the familiar object.

The dainty ring he'd presented her the night before was nestled in her palm. He swallowed hard against the sudden dryness tightening his throat. After Lizzie and Mika had been put to bed, he'd held the ring out to her. There were an awkward couple of minutes where she just looked between him and the ring before she took it from him and placed it on her nightstand.

They'd made love and then she'd fallen asleep. He wasn't sure what any of that had meant. Yes? No? Waking up to her gone from the bed had given him a momentary panic attack until he'd seen her sitting at the window.

Once he'd found her again, there had been no point, no reason to deny how he really felt for her. Hearing Beth's regrets about Herschel and to a lesser extent, Zach, he knew he couldn't let Carol be one of his regrets. Especially not when some of the others had lost so much after they'd lost the prison. There was no way he could go back to acting like she wasn't his everything when he'd spent agonizing days and nights wondering where she was and if she was still alive.

They'd been living together at Sanctuary since they'd arrived six months prior. People assumed they were married already. He figured making it official was the next natural step. It didn't hurt that they'd since gone to several weddings and he couldn't help but envision himself and Carol in place of the bride and groom.

He was a little surprised by the romantic nature of his own thoughts. Didn't think he'd ever want that pomp and circumstance. And yet, he couldn't help himself from getting the thin, gold banded engagement ring.

"Never did give me an answer," he ducked his head, suddenly wishing he hadn't cut his hair. He'd liked being able to hide behind the strands that would fall in his face. But after being blindsided by walkers one too many times, he'd finally shorn it.

She let out a hum and looked to be fighting a grin. "Never did ask me the question."

His eyes widened before narrowing. "That's why the hell you didn't say nothin'?"

"I guess I should have said 'thank you' to the gift. It is a beautiful ring. Was I really supposed to assume something beyond that? You know what they say about assuming…"

"Oh, for fucks sake," he shot up from the window and began pacing the room. Carol knew him, knew him better than anyone ever had. And yet she didn't know what him giving her a ring meant? "You just wanna watch me squirm."

Shaking her head, she stood, stopping him in his tracks by wrapping her arms around his shoulders, fingers caressing his neck lightly. "I'm not saying you have to give me an elaborate speech, Daryl. It'd just be nice to hear you ask," she paused, fingers stopping in their tracks and she looked down. "If it's something you really want."

He grasped her arms, pulling them from him to hold her hands. The hint of doubt he heard in her voice made his chest ache. She wasn't making it easy for him, but then, he'd never really made anything easy for her. "I ever tell you what a piece of work you are?"

A snicker escaped her. "A few times, actually."

Unable to resist, he kissed her smiling lips. Moving just a hairsbreadth away, he took a deep breath. "Shit, Carol, I wanna marry you. I want you to be mine and I'll be yours. I want those girls to be ours." A tear slid down his cheek and for a second he thought it was his own, but saw the tears were spilling over from her eyes. "Marry me?"

Giggling through her tears, she pried her hands from his, caressing his cheeks. "Yes. Of course."

He grabbed her by her waist and pushed her onto the bed until they were tangled together with the sheets. "Of course," he parroted with a snort, rolling his eyes before kissing her again.

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AN: I recommend everyone go and check out the other "Marry Me?" fic entries: Troth by subversivegrrl, Wild Things by Bsparrow, and Actions Speak Louder Than Words by Emerald Kitten. They are all so fabulous.


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